Os Textile Residency in Iceland by Barbara Matthews

 Os Textile Residency in Iceland by Barbara Matthews

Rolling hills covered in purple lupine provided my first impression of Iceland from the bus. Purple. Literally. Everywhere! Next was the horses, smaller than normal, but at every turn. Where were the sheep? It was not until later that I found them nestled 2 and 3 at a time among the folds of the terrain.

Icelandic horses can do five gaits.

I spent the month of July at the Os Textile Residency in Blonduos, Iceland, about 4 hours north of Reykjavik.

The population of Iceland numbers a little over 350,000, half living in Reykjavik. The sparseness throughout the rest of the country gives a colloquial feel and simpler life. Although reserved, the people are friendly and easy-going. Given the violent Viking history, this is somewhat surprising.

The sheep number at least twice that of people, but it seems the vastness of open land could accommodate many, many more. The sheep provide both wool and delicious lamb (including lamb hot dogs!).

The Os Textile Residency, housed in a large historic 3 story building, served as secondary education and housing for women students in the earlier years. The school formed nearly 100 years ago to fill a gap in secondary education for women. Students lived on-sight and were taught all subjects including aspects of textile construction.

Across the river from the Residency (three story red roof).

The residency living quarters in the main building consist of single rooms, shared bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, and laundry room. The facility can house about 12 people, 9 participated along with 5 more who lived in two adjoining cottages. A large studio with sink, tables, sewing machines, and small looms gave handy access at the facility along with six 8 treadle looms in another room. Each work room contains drop-dead views of the river and sea. Other buildings house dye lab, bio lab, spinning, and technical equipment—think electric carder and digital weaving, embroidery and knitting.

Shared studio space.

Weaving room.

My goal in attending the residency was to simply explore the materials and process. I wanted to release myself from the responsibility of producing completed art. The felting loom was my raison d'etre at the residency. This large but simple machine houses hundreds of barbed needles in four rows along a four-foot-wide table. Roving is fed through the machine multiple times to pre felt the wool thus cutting or eliminating the wet felting phase. I produced 12-20 pre-felted pieces, some samples, some larger ready for the next step.

Roving laid out and ready to be pre-felted through the loom.

Some of the pre-felt pieces I made.

I did not expect to be influenced by the extent of creativity among fellow artists, everyone was exploring as was I. The camaraderie, helpfulness, level of creativity, and variety of interests were energizing. Artists included theatre professionals, natural dyers, weavers, plus more. Everyone had multiple talents.

The day began with chats around coffee, then onto our separate ways to work coming together for a shared evening meal, often retreating to knit, write, or relax. The days were sprinkled with walks along the river and visits to the famed, local spa (swimming pool and hot tubs).

July and August are the most habitable months in Iceland, still rain, wind and temps in the 50s prevailed and highlighted the seaside beauty of the area on sunny days. In July, the sun set at about midnight and rose around 3:30AM adding to the otherworldliness of the country.

Finally, that which must be said--the phenomenal geologic formations from years of volcanic activity that characterize Iceland should not be missed. Features include extraordinary waterfalls, green covered mountains, varied rock formations, and geothermal areas. All adds to the specialness that makes Iceland easy to fall in love with.